Combustion chamber



Feb. 22, 1938; R. J. DUFOUR COMBUSTION CHAMBER Filed June 1, 1936 Patented Feb. 22, 19 38 UNITED STATES COMBUSTION CHAMBER Raymond J. Dufour, Oak Park, 111., assignor to Autogas Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application June 1, 1936, Serial No. 82,798

' 1 Claim. (o iss- -i).

This invention relates to combustion chambers,

and especially those intended for use with conversion burners, and is illustrated as embodied in a radiant structure for use with a gas burner.

An object of the invention is' to provide radiants adapted to be built up readily into combustion chambers of different shapes and sizes. Preferably the radiants are formed at their ends with surfaces which nest together to form balland-socket joints, or other integral pivots, permitting the combustion chamber to be built up with any desired number of sides, and of dif- Figure 3 is an elevation showing the overlapping ends of the radiants, partly broken away to -show the joints; and

Figures 4, 5, 6,and '7 are diagrammatic plan views showing different possible arrangements of the radiants. The illustrated combustion chamber, shown generally at In in Figure '1, is intended for use with a conversion burner as described in Wetherbee Patent No. 1,919,285, granted July 25, 1933. Gas orother fuel is burned inside the combustion chamber, the burning products of combustion is- .suing through slots l2 between superimposed radiant elements l4 consisting, in the form illustrated, of fluted trapezoidal-section strips of ceramic material. There may also be blank segments l6 fitting closely against each other at parts of the combustion chamber where it is not desired to generate radiantheat, as for example "facing the door of the furnace. The radiants H and I6 are built up, generally in the'manner of a log cabin, with the ends of each radiantbetween the endsof two of the others. A top l8, also a ceramic material, covers the stack of radiants so built up over the burner.

' The burning gases issuingv through the slots I! "to the furnace walls.

raise the radiants to incandescence, the heat being transferred to the furnace walls in straight lines as radiant heat, in the same general manner that the heat of burning anthracite is transferred i 5 According to an important feature of the present invention, each radiant M, (or I6) has on its upper and lower faces, at both ends, integral pivot means nesting with corresponding parts of the adjacent radiants. I prefer to provide such 10 means by forming the upper face with a concave hemispherical socket 20, and the lower face with a convex hemispherical projection 22,'the socket being slightly larger than the projection, so that the projection 22 on each radiant nests readily 15 into the socket 20 of the next lower radiant.

This construction greatly facilitates building up difierent sizes and shapes of combustionchambers in different furnaces.v For example the combustion chamber may have four sides each 20 the length of one radiant 14 (Figure 4), or six such sides (Figure 5) or eight such sides .(Figure 6), or four sides each the length of two of the radiants l4 (Figure '7).

' 26 which determine the width of slots If, and

have longitudinal flutes 28 on their upper and lower faces, with vertical flutes 30 on their vartical faces.

While one particular construction has been described in detail, it is not my intention-to limit the scope of the'invention to that particular construction, or otherwise than by the terms of the appended claim.

I-claim: 35 A combustion chamber comprising a stack formed of a series of superimposed segments arranged in layers with the adja'cent'ends of the segments overlapping and interconnected by balland-socket joints, each of said segments having 40 a convex semi-spherical projection and a concave cavity at each end in vertical alinemeut, said projections and cavities interfltting to'form said ball and socket joints, and said segments being arranged so that-thereare intervening slots be- 5 tween the ends or the superimposed segments for the escape of gases of combustion from the in terior -of said chamber.

RAYMOND 'J. maroon.

The radiants illustrated have spacershoul ders 25 

